


Nothing Else Matters

by Andromytta, nealinor



Series: ABO Bingo Round 1 [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, F/F, F/M, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Knotting, M/M, Mating, Rock Star AU, Rock Star Castiel, True Mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-20 02:19:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12423054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromytta/pseuds/Andromytta, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nealinor/pseuds/nealinor
Summary: When Dean Winchester accepts the invite from his best friend with benefits, Meg, he expects a wild night with a happy ending. What he doesn't expect is to come face to face with the alpha whom he loved and lost as a teenager. Can Dean get over the tragedy of their past in order to accept a second chance at his very own true mates story?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Squared Filled: Rock Star AU
> 
> The plot of this story is all in chapter one and is rated Teen. The smut is isolated in it's own chapter.

“Wear the Armani tonight, Dean-o!” Meg had to raise her voice because Dean was fully entrenched within his enormous walk in closet.

“I thought we were going to a concert.  No one wears a suit to a concert,” Dean complained as he threw rejected clothes onto his bed.

“It’s an album release party, and everyone dresses up for those.  I’m wearing my new Versace, and my date needs to be at least _almost_ as well dressed as me.”

Dean peeked out of the closet, and with a waggle of his eyebrows said, “Maybe later we can get that Versace on the floor.”

“Did you just use Bruno Mars on me?” Meg asked impressed.  Current pop music was _not_ Dean’s thing.

“What’s a Bruno Mars?”  Dean was back in his closet, so the question was shouted.

“He’s a musician…you know what, never mind.  Just get dressed.”

Finally emerging from the closet, fully dressed in the Armani Meg suggested, Dean asked, “Is that who we’re seeing tonight?”

Meg rolled her eyes.  “No, I told you, we’re going to see Thursday’s Angels.  A band you’d be more than aware of if you listened to anything besides those crusty old cassettes in the Impala.”

“Hey, you leave my baby out of this!” Dean said with mock indignation as he swatted Meg on her shapely ass.  He was determined to ignore why that band name may have meant something to him.

***

Dean Winchester and Meg Masters had a mutually beneficial, albeit unique, relationship.  They were both omegas, but unlike most omegas, they had no interest in settling down and mating with a strong alpha.  They were free spirits and enjoyed themselves in the arms of many partners, but spent much of their spare time between dates together.

Meg wasn’t picky about who she “dated.”  Primary and secondary genders meant nothing to her, so long as the person was easy on the eyes and could hold up their end of a conversation.  With Meg, that usually meant being able to match her snark for snark.  Dean, on the other hand, rarely dated alphas and never, _ever_ dated men.  He refused to think about, much less discuss, why he had such a strong preference.

***

They arrived at the venue well before the event was scheduled to start.  As the publicist for the band, Thursday’s Angels (Dean still refused to acknowledge why that name gave him a twinge) it was Meg’s job to make sure everything was in order for the album release party.  She had to supervise everything from ensuring that the right type of media was there right down to where the red carpet would be placed.  Her Versace dress was in a garment bag hanging safely in a room in the hotel that was hosting the party.  Dean _was_ looking forward to getting up to that room later and leaving that Versace on the floor…even if that was some lyric to some pop song.  Dean didn’t understand that reference anyway.  In the meantime, at least their assigned table would have a good view of the door to watch the movers and shakers of the LA music scene who showed up to the shindig.  The stage was at the other side of the enormous room (floor?  Did the hotel provide an entire floor for this thing?)  So Dean wouldn’t really be able to see the performance, but what did he care.  It wasn’t his kind of music.

Unfortunately, as Meg’s date, it was Dean’s responsibility to stand at the door with her and greet the guests as they arrived.  He was really hoping this would have been one of those dates where he just had to sit next to her and look pretty.  He’d been feeling off all evening and was in no mood to be polite and chipper towards strangers.  But, Dean would do what he had to, because he’d be damned if he made Meg look bad at work.

***

As time wore on, Dean met more people than he could keep up with.  In fact, the only two people whose names he could remember were the band’s manager, Charlie (a cute, quirky red headed female omega) and the bassist for the band, Jo (equally cute, quirky in a different way, blonde female omega).  If the two of them hadn’t been hanging all over each other, Dean would have considered hitting on them when Meg eventually left his side to see if she could round up a third for their activities later.

But that would have to wait.  Clearly the person everyone was there to see was arriving if the ramped up explosion of flash bulbs and screaming fans was anything to go by.  Dean figured this had to be the leader of the band.  He was expecting some Goth girl with fake wings and a halo.  Saying that what happened next was _not_ what Dean was expecting would have been the understatement of the century.

Then, it hit him.  First it was the scent, something he hadn’t smelled since high school.  Lightning and wind, like a storm on the horizon.  Appropriate, since it wasn’t unlike being hit by lightning.  Dean stood frozen where he was, when he saw who the scent belonged to and the wind was knocked out of him.  Castiel Novak, his first (and only) love…and the reason he rarely dated alphas and never dated men. 

Without even a word to Meg, Dean took off.  He barely made it to the restroom in time before he emptied the entire contents of his stomach into the commode.  After several extended minutes of puking up what felt like every meal for the last month, he was interrupted by a voice behind him.

“Let me guess, Clarence is your unicorn?”

“I don’t want to talk, Meg.  Go away.”

Meg leaned against the sink, crossed her arms over her chest and her legs at the ankles and just stared Dean down.  A dark, perfectly shaped eye brow raised over one of her whiskey colored eyes.  “Come on, Dean-o, I’m just worried.  I’ve never actually seen you turn green before.  Seriously, your skin almost matched your eyes out there.  So, spill, what did Clarence do to you to cause such a strong reaction?”

“Who is Clarence?”  Either Dean was more dehydrated than he thought, or Meg was making no sense.

She rolled her eyes.  “Castiel.  The angel of Thursday.”

“Why do you call him Clarence?”  Dean was still not following her.

Meg sighed heavily.  “Nevermind.  That’s not important.  What is important is why he caused you to run in here and…well….you know.  Dude, that is pretty disgusting.  Can you flush that, rinse out your mouth, and talk to me?”

“Fine.”  Dean did as she suggested then sank to the floor against the wall with the paper towel dispenser.

Without hesitation, Meg sat down next to him.  “Hey, looks like you got my Versace on the floor after all.”  She half smiled at him, but it was mirthless.  She patted his knee in a gesture of comfort.  “Ok, spill.  What’s going on?”

Dean took a deep breath and scrubbed his hands over his face before telling his story.  “Me and Cas….we, uh, kind of grew up together.  Next door neighbors.”

“Aww!  You fell for the boy next door!” Meg cooed.  Dean silenced her with a look.  “Ok, sorry.  Continue.”

“Everyone just assumed Cas would present as an omega and I’d be an alpha.  He was a small kid, got bullied a lot, and I just protected him, even though I wasn’t all that much bigger.  Our parents figured we’d end up mated since we were always inseparable.  As long as things went the way my dad expected them to go, he didn’t have a problem with that plan.”

Meg nodded, somewhat understanding.  She had heard horror stories about John Winchester from both Dean and his brother Sam.  She’d known them both since college.  “I know your dad had a problem when you presented…but you never did tell me what happened.”

Dean curled in on himself, at least, as much as his 6’1 frame would let him.  He was practically whispering as he continued his story, but it didn’t matter, Meg was listening intently and had no problem hearing him.

“We both presented around the same time, when we were about 16.  It was the opposite of what we expected, but to us, it didn’t matter.  We wanted to be together no matter what our designation was.  Even if we were both betas, we didn’t care.  But we were actually happy with the way things turned out.  I wanted to take care of Cas in any capacity.  That all changed when my dad came home to find us making out on the couch.  He went into a rage and pulled Cas away from me.  He said omega or not, no son of his was going to take someone’s knot, especially someone who couldn’t protect himself from bullies.  He said that a weak alpha like that was not worthy.”  Tears had started a steady stream down Dean’s cheeks.  Meg reached up and pulled a paper towel down and wiped them from his face.  Dean let her as he kept talking.  “He threw Cas out of the house.  I think he may have broken Cas’s nose.  I’m not sure.  The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital with Sam and Uncle Bobby looking scared to death next to me.  I guess my dad beat me up pretty bad.  I still don’t remember what happened.  Just that it was bad enough that Uncle Bobby had Sheriff Mills arrest him.  We moved in with Bobby after that, and I never saw Cas again.”

Meg pulled Dean into her arms and cradled his head in her lap.  She didn’t even care that he was crying all over her Versace.  As she carded her fingers through his hair, she decided she was going to try to fix what John Winchester had broken.

***

Castiel hadn’t expected to receive the shock of his life when arriving to the party. Up until he walked into the room itself, the evening had gone as he expected more or less. He’d been caught out front by dozens of cameras and a horde of screaming fans that were there to welcome his arrival. He nodded and stopped as he was supposed to, then made his way passed the cameras with the help of his body guard (a large brute of an alpha named Uriel). They were silent as they walked to the ballroom. He dutifully followed the handler Meg had assigned to guide him where he wanted to go. The handler had whispered to him twice that he needed to relax but honestly, Castiel hated these things. He was terrible with people and at some point; he was going to have to interview with someone. Maybe Meg would stand with him and help him with that. He wasn’t too proud to beg.

The woman in question stood at the doors wearing an expensive black dress, greeting all who arrived. He’d ask for her help when he came in, no problem. The people standing between shifted and there he stood. Dean. It had been years since he’d seen his high school sweetheart, the only person he’d ever loved and the omega he still wanted to this very day. He was beautiful. The features that had been pretty as a boy had grown into the full bloom of adulthood now, his lips were plump and full, his shoulders broad and his hips narrow. He was still bow-legged. His eyes were still the most exquisite shade of green Castiel had ever seen.  Then he was hit with Dean’s scent, the thick sweetness of honey and the dizzying aroma of bourbon layered with a tinge of leather. It never failed to punch the breath out of him and it did so now. That’s the only thing that kept him from speaking.

So, he only watched as all the color drained from Dean’s face and the man fled. His heart clenched as he watched first Dean and then Meg retreat through the crowd. It left him dazed and somewhat confused to. Of course, he knew that he’d simply disappeared after Dean’s father caught them together but he’d had to do that. It had been for Dean’s own protection. All these years, he’d wondered if Dean hated him for it and now he had his answer. It was cowardly of him to have stayed away all those years ago, but Dean’s father had aptly pointed out at the time that Castiel was a weak alpha who couldn’t protect his son. That day was the worst of his life and having seen Dean had brought it all back to him. The first punch that John had thrown had broken his nose and blood had gone everywhere. Before he could do anything, he was being strong armed out of the house. He’d been thrown down the few steps off the Winchester porch and then John had fallen on him and simply beaten him. Castiel often wondered if he’d stopped if his own father hadn’t stopped the man. Castiel’s father wasn’t an alpha like John, he was a mild mannered beta but had come to his son’s rescue with a handgun – that had stopped the alpha. After that, his parents had taken him to the hospital.

He knew Dean had been hurt much worse; but he was told to stay away. They knew John had been arrested but not if he had been put in jail. Castiel had agreed because one of the last things he remembered John saying to him was that he would rather see Dean dead than with an alpha like him. The threat had made Castiel’s blood run cold and he’d stayed away. He’d rather live a lifetime without his only love than to see him killed. Seeing him alive today set loose a pain like none he could have imagined. It was worse, far worse, than it had been when he’d not had to see Dean. Now he knew that he was alive, that he was absolutely beautiful, and that Castiel simply couldn’t help him. Next to him, a reporter jostled him to ask a question but he merely stared at her, making her shift uncomfortably. He felt like a ship cast adrift at sea without a rudder to guide him.

A warm pair of hands closed around his upper arm and he looked down, blinking once as he gazed down into Charlie’s smiling face. “The stage is this way, Cas.” She said brightly and began to steer him through the crowd with a purpose.

For the first time that evening, Castiel relaxed. Charlie would take care of him. She would take him where he needed to go and make sure he didn’t ruin anything while Meg was away.

Soon they were away from people and in a back stage area. Jo was sitting there with the rest of the band but with a look from Charlie they filtered out of the room, leaving them completely alone.

“What has you so spooked, Cas?” Charlie asked as she guided him towards the couch and made him sit down.

“It was Dean, Charlie. My Dean.”

“Where?” Charlie eyebrows drew up in complete shock .

“With Meg by the door.” Castiel told her, shaking his head to shove loose the strange daze he’d fallen under. Unfortunately, repeating that he’d found Dean brought tears to the corners of his eyes because he’d never gotten over it. “He’s here.” He looked up at her, blue eyes shining with unshed tears. “He’s perfect still.”

“But that’s wonderful! Okay, maybe not so great that he’s Meg’s date but let’s be honest. Meg’s never serious.” Charlie grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “This is your chance! After all these years you can tell him what happened and what he truly means to you.”

“I… can’t.” Castiel looked at the hope in her eyes and wanted so badly to take it to heart. “He… he hates me. He went pale and ran away the moment he saw me.” Saying it out loud made him feel as if he had a stone sinking into his gut.

“You don’t know that!” Charlie, ever the optimist, argued. “Maybe he was just as shocked to see you as you were to see him. What happened to the two of you was awful and regardless of how good it is to see each other, the trauma is there.” It all made so much sense when Charlie said it. “So, maybe he got all mixed up with that and needed to think. You needed to think too, right.”

“I did.” Castiel shook his head again. “I don’t know what to do now.”

Charlie grinned at him with a wink. “Leave that to me!”

***

As Meg continued to stroke Dean’s hair soothingly with one hand, she managed to retrieve her phone from her cleavage with the other and fired off an angry text.

_Why didn’t you say anything when you KNEW Castiel Novak was one of my clients?_

The response came much faster than Meg expected.  She knew Sam was supposed to be on a date with Eileen.

_Because it’s not my story to tell.  Like you’d bring Dean to a pop music event anyway._

Another text came through almost on top of the last one.

_Wait, you didn’t bring DEAN to Thursday’s Angels’ release party did you?_

She rolled her eyes, hoping it was hard enough for Sam to sense from blocks away.

_If I had known better I wouldn’t have.  Besides, Benny’s mad at me…or I’m mad at him.  I forget.  What’s important is that yes, he’s here with me now because someone didn’t give me much needed best friend information!_

With a frustrated growl, Meg shoved her phone back into her dress.  She gently shoved Dean out of her lap.  “Hey, Dean-o, why don’t you go up to our room and call Sam.  And don’t empty the mini bar!”

Dean sat up and scowled at her.  “Why would I call Sam?”  When her eyes darted away from his and she shrugged in answer to his question, he knew.  “You told him?”

“Dean, Sam knows Cas is one of my clients.  He should have told me you two have a history.  I-I wouldn’t have brought you with me if I knew…”

“Yeah, Meg, what would you have done if Sam had told you?” Dean stood up as he asked the question, trying to intimidate the petite omega by drawing up to his full height.

It didn’t work.  Meg stood up and looked up at him, bourbon brown eyes boring into bottle green ones.  “I would have made sure your reunion wasn’t here, in front of dozens of reporters and cameras.”

Dean spoke softly, all the fight drained from him.  “That’s why he didn’t tell you, Meg.  You’d want to ‘fix’ it.  You always want to fix me.  But, I don’t want to see him.  I-I can’t see him Meg.  Please, please don’t do anything.  I’ll go up to the room and call Sam and have him take me home.  I can’t deal with this right now.”

“But why?  You’re clearly still in love with him.”

“That’s exactly why.”  Dean sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face again.  “My dad nearly killed me the first time we were together.  Sam said I was in a coma for almost a month.  The doctors said it was a miracle I survived.  Dad would have tried to kill Cas too, I’m sure.  And now…now he’s a damned rock star…and you know, my love life ain’t exactly private.”  He was working up a full head of steam now, full of righteous indignation.  “So just butt out, Meg, ok?”

“Please, Jerry Maguire.  You’re a sports agent, it’s not like you’re Tom Cruise.  Most people don’t care about your love life.” Meg chuckled, but it was without humor.

“You know how many celebrities I’ve dated?  People care about my love life.  Besides, I’m sure that wherever he is, John Winchester watches Sports Center.”

Meg shook her head, but she acquiesced.  Twenty years later, and Dean was still terrified of his father.  It broke her heart.  She wanted to see Dean reunited with who was clearly the love of his life, but more, she wanted Dean to feel safe, so she’d do as he asked and leave it alone.

***

Dean went up to the room, and Meg went back to work.  She fully intended to respect Dean’s wishes and do nothing, really, she did.  That is, until she ran into Charlie back at the ballroom.

Charlie grabbed Meg by the wrists and pulled her to the side of the room.  With a wild look in her eyes, she demanded, “Tell me about your date!”

Slipping into her expected sex kitten persona, Meg purred, “Oh, we just got busy in the bathroom.  Wore the poor guy out.  He’s sleeping it off up in our room.”  She added an exaggerated waggle of her eyebrows to emphasize her point.

“You’re lying,” Charlie said matter-of-factly.

“Would I lie?  Especially about great sex?”

“Look, I know all about Cas’s history with Dean, so would you drop the act already?”  Charlie was practically pleading at this point.

Meg sighed heavily.  “Ok, fine.  Dean is my best friend (sometimes with benefits) but until Clarence walked in and Dean turned 50 shades of green, I didn’t know they knew each other.”

“How could he not know you represent the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the country?”

“Dean doesn’t listen to anything recorded after 1989.  The year, not the Taylor Swift album.”

Charlie seemed to accept this explanation.  “Ok, fine.  So, what are we going to do about it?”

Meg shook her head vehemently, whipping her dark locks from side to side.  “Nothing.  I’m not doing anything.  I promised Dean I’d leave it alone.”

Charlie rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, yeah.  Doesn’t matter, as their besties, it is our responsibility to do what’s best for them whether they like it or not.”

“You do realize this means we’ll have to spend more time together.  I mean, we basically hate each other,” Meg pointed out logically, her last ditch effort to keep her promise to Dean.

“That’s just because you tried to sleep with Jo when you knew I liked her,” Charlie said.

Meg chuckled.  “Oh yeah, my bad.”

“And then you tried to sleep with me when you knew I liked Jo.”

Meg was smirking.  “Well, you know, the three of us could always….”

Charlie cut her off.  “Ew.  No offense.”

“None taken.  So, you got a plan?”

Before Charlie could answer, her eyes grew large in alarm as she stared at a point behind Meg.  “Shit.”

“What?” Meg asked as she turned around to see what distracted the other woman.  “Shit.  I’m on it.”

Cas was surrounded by reporters, attempting to give an interview.  Without Meg, or Charlie, or even Jo around, he looked terrified.  Castiel could perform in a stadium filled with 100,000 people, but put him in front of a handful of reporters with cameras and tape recorders, he practically became Rainman.  Meg strode purposefully over to the gaggle of press and interrupted whatever question some skanky looking red head was about to ask.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone.  I was taking care of my date in the bathroom if you know what I mean…”  A waggle of her eyebrows coupled with her reputation, and Meg knew the reporters would assume something far different than how she was _actually_ “taking care” of her date.  She reached a hand up and squeezed Cas’s shoulder, both to comfort him and to try to communicate that nothing happened in the restroom.  She continued into her well-rehearsed publicist spiel.  “Thursday’s Angels’ new album is unique in both a new and old way.  Castiel and Jo went back to their roots and dug up songs they wrote while they were still studying music.  Songs near and dear to their hearts, but never before heard by the public outside of their college coffeehouses.  Tonight, you’ll hear each of them perform the very first songs they wrote, which will also each be released as singles.  So, Thursday’s Angels will have two singles on the radio that not only will sound completely different from each other, but also different than anything the band has released before.  They go on in about five minutes, so let’s let Clarence here go get ready so you can all be entertained by the number one band in America.”  She quickly ushered Cas away from the vultures and to the back stage area so he could change.

When Meg left him with the rest of the band, she immediately sought out Charlie. She found the red head alone in a dressing room. “How are we going to do this?”

“Alright.” Charlie clapped her hands together, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. “We need to get them alone together in a room.”

“And how are we going to manage that, Einstein? Dean is so spooked he’s hiding in the room. He’s going to call his brother and leave.”

“Crap! We need to act fast. How far away is said brother?”

Meg had to think about that. “I think at least an hour.”

Charlie’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay, I can work with that. Let’s see where Dean is. What’s his phone number?”

Meg rattled the number off. “Why?”

“I’m going to track him through his GPS.” Charlie said in a matter of fact voice.  Her fingers flew over her phone and soon she turned the screen towards Meg. “Here he is, in your room again. So… all I have to do is track him and we can send Cas to him. Cas wants to talk to him so that bit will be easy.”

“What if Dean goes somewhere else?” Meg asked because an emotionally taxed Dean was unpredictable and erratic.

“That’s where you come in. You’ll have to redirect him somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be the room, but somewhere that they can be alone.” Charlie put in. “Then you tell me and I can send Cas there.”

“Got it.” Meg wasn’t sure how well this would work but maybe Charlie was right; the two needed to talk, particularly if they still loved each other.

***

When Dean got up to the hotel room, he didn’t have to call Sam, as his brother was already calling him.  When he heard the noise of the restaurant in the background as well as Eileen’s unique voice, he remembered Sam was on a date.  Dean didn’t ask Sam to come get him, and he did his best to assure Sam that he was fine and that Meg was looking after him.  “Who knew she had a mother hen in her?” he griped before he promised to call Sam in the morning and disconnecting the call.

He made a beeline for the mini bar, conveniently forgetting that he promised Meg not to empty it.  But as he stood there perusing the contents, he realized he had no desire for alcohol.  If that didn’t say something about his current mental state, he didn’t know what would.  He sighed heavily.  He had to get out of there.  He didn’t want to even be in the same building as Cas.  He didn’t know what would happen if someone found out about them and word got out that they were in a hotel together.

Dean had never been happier that he won the argument with Meg and drove them in his baby instead of riding in a limo her PR firm would have hired for them.  He pocketed his keys and made his way down stairs.  Unfortunately, the only way to make it to the lot the Impala was parked in was to go through the party room.  He steeled himself and walked into the room.

When he entered, he was pinned to the spot.  A hauntingly familiar voice was talking about the “first song” he’d ever written and that it was “for someone very special” before strumming a guitar and letting loose with a riff that would have made Metallica proud.  It was like a power ballad but different somehow.  Between the introduction to the song, the guitar riffs, and the lyrics that Dean could barely process, it was too much.  He couldn’t bring himself to make his way across the room and out the door. 

Instead, he slipped quietly out the door he entered by and went back to his hotel room.  He still couldn’t bear to see Cas or be in the same room as him, but he also couldn’t bear to leave the building.  Dean broke his promise to Meg and raided the mini bar.

***

Concentrating on singing the songs was the hardest thing that Cas had done in a long time. Normally, the lights and the fans took away everything else and left him able to concentrate on giving a good show however, tonight all he could think about was Dean. He had never lost an awareness of Dean, he’d seen him on the television sports channel and had noted how much he dated other people (much to the detriment of his aching heart) but he’d never made the move to talk to him. There were too many variables out there. Did Dean want to talk to him? Did Dean hate him? Did Dean now think him as weak as John Winchester had? Where was John Winchester now? Those thoughts kept him at a distance.

His eyes continuously crossed the crowd, looking for Dean but he never saw him. His heart fell even lower in his chest, if that was even possible. By the time he left the stage, he felt as if the entire situation was hopeless. This shouldn’t have been new because that’s the way it had been for some time now, but as he dodged the typical omega groupies between the stage and the dressing rooms, he realized that seeing Dean had given him that tiny sliver of hope. That was just enough to hurt like hell when it was ripped away.

By the time they got into the dressing room, it was safe to say that he was not fit for company and was two steps from snarling someone’s head off. That’s when Charlie found him, with Meg in tow, no less. That should have given him some warning because honestly, there was bad blood between those two.

“Alright, Cas.” Charlie said, stepping to him with squared shoulders. “Here’s how this is going to go.”

“What?”

“You are going to go up and talk to Dean in his room.” Charlie shoved a key card in his hand.

“The room is 1313.” Meg said as she nudged Castiel towards the door.

“Wait.” Cas wanted to go. The promise of seeing Dean again, talking to him was everything. “Does Dean want me to come?”

Meg’s shoulders slumped. “Dean’s a little freaked right now.”

“I can’t… I can’t make him more upset.” Castiel felt a little bit crushed but was determined to do the right thing. He handed the keycard back. “I appreciate the thought.”

“No.” Charlie looked at the key and then up to Castiel. “This is your chance. We aren’t saying you have to get together but the two of you need to talk. It’s obvious to both of us.” She nodded to Meg.

Meg glared at her but sighed. “It’s true, if just seeing each other hurts this much, then you both need closure of some sort.”

Cas snorted. “Closure. He probably hates me because I didn’t come back…”

“Ugh, enough already!” Meg grabbed Castiel’s wrist and began to drag him towards the elevator with Charlie in tow. When the door opened, she tossed him inside. The two omegas stood in front of him, blocking him from the controls.

On the plus side, Meg had let go of him. She was damn strong for an omega. He was going to have bruises. Unfortunately, the moment the elevator opened again, she grabbed him again. Charlie took the other hand and Castiel found himself force marched down the hall. He even tried struggling because all he could think now was that Dean was going to hate him even more for trapping him.

What happened when they arrived at the door was so fast it left Cas’s head spinning, the door was opened and he was shoved inside. He stumbled in two steps and froze when Dean’s scent hit him. Meg and Charlie stood in the doorway, preventing exit.

“Now. You two or going to talk this shit out or I’m going to tie you both together.” Meg announced and then stepped outside with Charlie.

With trepidation, Castiel turned to face Dean.

Dean stood next to the minibar. There was an open miniature bottle of Jack Daniel’s in his hand that fell from nerveless fingers. He was pale again, as pale as when Cas last saw him. He looked on the verge of either passing out or vomiting. “Cas.”

“Hello, Dean.” Cas answered, wishing that his stomach wasn’t trying to rebel as well. If Dean vomited then Cas would be right there with him. “Um… I… I wanted to talk to you.”

“You can’t be here.” Dean hissed, stalking across the room to grab Cas by the arm. “You have to go. Please, Cas.”

Hearing Dean ask him to leave was more of a blow than he thought it would be. It felt as if someone had hit him in the chest with a baseball bat. He was breathless as he blinked rapidly against the building moisture behind his eyes. “I just… I wanted to explain… all these years….”

“What’s left to say?” Dean’s voice was tight and he wasn’t looking at Cas. He was staring straight at the wall ahead of the two of them as he tried to pull Cas back towards the door.

What the hell was with everyone trying to drag him around like a ragdoll? He might not be some hulking, muscle bound knothead but he was not a weakling either. Finding his spine, Cas dug in his heels. “NO!” He wrenched his arm from Dean’s grasp. “You want me to leave, then I will go Dean but not before I’ve said my peace. I’ve spent my life regretting that I never came back to you. That I was too much of a weakling and a coward to face John Winchester and I let that keep me from you. You are my true mate and I did what I thought was best. You father told me he’d kill you if I came back. You need to know that, Dean. I chose what I did because I’d rather spend a million lifetimes alone than to live knowing that I was the cause of your life being taken away.” Dean stood before him, his lips open and eyes wide as if he hadn’t expected any of this.

“I thought… I thought you hated me because of my Dad.” Dean’s voice was barely more than a whimper when he spoke.

“No… God, Dean, I could never hate you.” Cas touched Dean’s hand then took it into his own before he reached for the other one. When they stood chest to chest, he found himself gazing into the bright green eyes that he knew so well. “You are my true mate. I love you. I was born to love you and I’ll die loving you, even if I never get to touch you again.”

“Cas…” Tears shone at the corner of Dean’s eyes and one snuck loose and made a shiny trail over one cheek. “I don’t want you to die. He’ll kill you or me or maybe both of us.”

“I know.” Seeing Dean’s tears released the ones Castiel was trying to hold back. He could hear them in his voice when he spoke. “All I want is you. But if I can’t keep you safe…”

“Are you two fucking serious?!” Meg’s voice startled them both. “Are you going to stand there and let John fucking Winchester rule your lives forever?”

“Meg, you know what he’s capable of.” Dean’s voice was pleading as he looked at her. “I know he’ll come back to do something.”

Cas nodded. “He hated me in particular, you know. He broke four of my ribs. One of them punctured my lung. He only stopped because my father pointed a gun at him.”

Meg snorted. “So buy a gun!”

“I own a gun.” Castiel said, clearly offended. “I fail to see how that would… I’m not going to shoot someone, Meg.”

Next to Meg, Charlie raised her hand.

Meg, clearly in charge now, turned to her. “What, Charlie.”

“You know, there are ways to make life very hard for John Winchester that would keep him busy and away from you all. Preferably behind bars.” Charlie said with a shrug.

Dean’s eyes sharpened. “What do you propose?”

“Oh.. any number of things. Bank fraud is something we can do remotely.” Charlie was so nonchalant as she listed it off. “Of course, you guys are missing something huge.”

“What’s that?” Castiel glanced to Dean again. His color was returning and that was good, though he still had tears on his cheeks. Cas wanted to kiss them off.

“Your body guards. You never go anywhere without them. John Winchester couldn’t get to you if he tried. Dean is a little harder, but honestly, it wouldn’t be too hard to track him either.”

“You can track my dad?” Dean asked incredulously.

“Of course.” Charlie said with her characteristic grin. “I can keep tabs on him and if he gets anywhere near either of you, we can swoop in and snap him up, easy peasy.”

Dean looked to him. “Is this for real, Cas?”

“I’m afraid so, Dean.” Cas reached up to cup Dean’s jaw in his hand so he could wipe one of the tears away with his thumb. “My best friend is just as scary as yours.”

Next to them, Charlie held up her hand to Meg for a high five. After a long moment, Meg gave it to her with a careworn sigh. “So you see how dumb you are being? This is a once in a lifetime thing. True mates together once again. How often do you think the universe gives out second chances?”

“Not very often.” Castiel murmured, unable to take his eyes off of Dean. “If this is my second chance, I never want to let you go. Please say you want that too.”

Dean’s eyes flicked up and down Castiel’s face, as if he wasn’t sure where to look though they kept coming back to his lips. “I do want that too, Cas. I do.”

“Good.” Leaning forward, Castiel took the hint and pressed their lips together. Dean’s lips were soft and warm and they tasted of whiskey and the salt of his tears and that was perfect. With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around Dean’s shoulders and pulled him in, fully intent on making good on his promise of never letting go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the smut!

Despite willfully knowing that they were each other’s true mates; falling back together as mates wasn’t exactly easy, particularly given the fact that they both lived in the public eye. The media went into a frenzy the moment they got wind of a romance between Castiel of Thursday’s Angels and Dean Winchester. Once the story was out, Meg decided to use it to their advantage and it was revealed that they had been high school sweethearts and of course, they were soon touted as the romance of the year. That was hard enough but both men had busy schedules and it was hard to find time to spend together. Still, they were both bound and determined to cling to each other this time.

Sacrifices were made on both of their parts, and somehow they made it work. Dean worked from a distance with some of his clients. He met up with Cas in major cities during his tour stops. Cas would take extra flights to where Dean was just to spend an evening with him. By mutual agreement, they took things slowly. They held hands first, then moved to cuddling on the couch and watching movies together when they could. They took things step by step and didn’t rush, learning to like each other as well as to love each other. They’d each changed quite a lot. Dean liked to read in his spare time (something he didn’t do much in high school) while Cas now ran marathons and took part in long distance cycling. The alpha was a great deal stronger than he’d once been and was fully capable of picking up Dean and carrying him (which he demonstrated more than once).

 It had been about six months when things slowly started to shift as both men began to want more. Cas had a month long break from his tour and Dean took the opportunity to take some of his vacation time to go away with Cas for a little trip. Instead of heading off to one of the major vacation hubs, Dean found them a nice beach house that was well away from any of the hot travel destinations. It was just the two of them, a small house and miles and miles of white, sandy beach.

“This might be heaven.” Dean announced as he walked out onto the screened in back deck that overlooked the water. A warm breeze teased his hair and ruffled the edges of the bright Hawaiian shirt he wore.

“What’s amazing is that shirt.” Cas tugged the teal fabric that was liberally decorated with pink flamingos. “Where did you get it?”

“No need to be jealous, Babe. I brought you one.” Dean held out a bright blue shirt that was decorated with red macaws in flight.

Castiel laughed. “It’s so hideous that it’s perfect.” He shrugged off his worn AC/DC shirt and replaced it with the loud shirt, taking time to button it down. The bonus of this was that it gave Dean a chance to ogle Cas’s chest. Once the alpha had redressed, he glanced at Dean. “What’s the plan for the night?”

“Ah… that’s what I brought all those groceries for.” Dean moved out of the screen to the grill nearby. “I’m going to cook dinner on the grill and then we are going to spend the rest of the night enjoying being lazy together.”

“That sounds perfect.” Cas walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist, his lips skimming the back of Dean’s neck. “How can I help?”

Together, the two men worked to make a dinner of grilled steaks, corn on the cob and potatoes, and then they ate it together on the deck while they watched the sun set over the water. They lingered there after they cleaned up, cuddled up on a love seat in the failing light of day. It was one of the most perfect evenings Dean had ever experienced. It got better when Cas pulled him up and insisted they go for a walk. The two men shed their shoes and socks and walked down the beach hand in hand until it got too dark for them to see. Once back in the cottage, they lazed around together on the couch watching Dr. Sexy on Netflix.

At some point, Dean curled into Cas’s side and kissed his cheek. The alpha turned to meet his lips and lazy cuddling soon became a lazy make out session. At least, it started out lazy however; it didn’t take long for the kisses to become heated. It had been a long time since they’d been together and more, this was the first time they’d planned to spend the night together. (Not to say that they hadn’t slept in the same room before, there had been a couple of times they’d stayed up so late that falling asleep had occurred; they simply had made a conscious choice not to have sex up to this point.) Soon, Dr. Sexy was forgotten as they lost themselves in each other.

Dean thought his alpha’s lips tasted like heaven; but then, he always did that. He wasted little time in plunging his tongue past those lips and drinking in the flavor of his mate’s mouth, all lightning and rain. The air shimmered want between them. There was always a little of that between them, they were, after all, mates. Until now, it had been a low simmer, a warmth that flowed between them just waiting for them to need it. Tonight, however, it felt different, more urgent and potent. He tore his lips away from Cas’s and dropped his head down to bury his nose in the crook of his mate’s neck. He drew in the scent of the other man; it normally made him feel at home and safe but tonight it felt like the home fires roared beneath his skin. He shifted on the couch, tossing one thigh over Cas’s legs so he could shift his weight and come down in the man’s lap.

“Dean…” Cas breathed, his hands settling on Dean’s hips as he drew them towards his own.

Dean could feel a tremble in Cas’s fingers as he stared into the other man’s blue eyes. Want glowed out of his mate’s gaze. The weight of it made Dean shiver in response. “Want you.” He whispered, leaning in until his lips moved against Cas’s when he spoke again. “It’s time you made me yours.”

Cas froze, his fingers flexing against Dean’s hips once more before he nodded, his expression a mixture of seriousness and need. “I agree. There’s nothing I want more.”

Dean crawled off of Cas’s lap and touched the fingers on his hips until Cas let him go. He took the alpha’s hand and began to draw him away from the couch. Dr. Sexy still played on the television, for the moment completely forgotten. Dean led the way through the small vacation home to the single bedroom that lay to the back of the house. He flicked on the light when he reached the door. The room was dominated by a king sized bed with a pale yellow bedspread. The room itself was awash in pale sea shore colors but Dean scarcely noticed them. He stopped at the foot of the bed and pushed Cas down until the alpha took the hint and sat on the bed. Dean tipped Cas’s chin up until the alpha was gazing at him, then he leaned down to kiss his lips once more. “Stay here.”

Taking two steps back, Dean put his hands to the ridiculous shirt he’d put on earlier and shrugged it off of his shoulders before playfully tossing it at Cas.

The alpha caught it with a grin. “Should I put this on too?”

“The idea is less clothing, Alpha. Less.”

Cas put the shirt down on the bed next to him. “My mistake. Should I help?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Dean winked at the man as he began to peel off the black t-shirt that he wore beneath. “Maybe I want to show off a little for you.” With his chest now bare, he reached for the button on his pants, however, once he touched it, he paused. A sudden shyness over took him and he glanced to Castiel. “If you’d like me to… that is.”

Castiel watched him with rapt fascination. “You are perfect, Dean.” He shifted back on the bed, leaning onto his palms behind him. “Watching you move is breathtaking.”

With color racing over his cheeks, Dean freed the button from jeans and then his fingers found the zipper and ran it down slowly. He paused once more, smile on his lips as he pulled the fabric open to show nothing more than the plain black of his boxer briefs beneath. Of course, his cock was hard and strained against the fabric and that was quite clear however; Dean ignored it for now. Instead, he loosened the jeans from his hips and let them slide down his legs before stepping out of them. He kicked the pants away with bare feet before he went back to his underwear. Cas’s eyes raked over his body with a gaze so heavy that Dean’s skin shivered with the intensity of it. For the first time in a long while, Dean felt powerful. His fingers drew over the shape of his clothed cock and he hissed with the touch. He yearned for more and while he wanted to tease Cas (the alpha was breathing heavily on the bed while watching him), he wanted to feel Cas’s touch more. He pulled the shorts down and stepped out of them with little nonsense, however, once his heated arousal was exposed to air, his fingers went back to it.

He stroked his cock in full view of Cas, letting his fingers drag on the silken flesh. He groaned with the touch, his eyes falling on his mate. “I want you to touch me.”

“God, yes.”  Cas hastily rose from the bed and took a step towards him however, his feet tangled in the bed spread and he stumbled.

Dean caught him with steady hands, laughing. “Careful, Cas. I’m not going anywhere.” He set the alpha to rights then stood before him. “You aren’t naked enough.” With that, Dean began to undress him with slow hands. He took his time about it; his fingers sliding over flesh under fabric before he undid the buttons of Cas’s shirt. He took his time in peeling off the alpha’s pants, making sure to touch as much of Cas’s body as he could in the process. If the alpha had been breathing heavily while Dean stripped, he was fully panting by the time that Dean had gotten all of his clothes off.

“There.” Dean said when Cas stepped out of his boxer shorts, though whatever else had been on his lips was crushed when Cas pulled him in for a fierce kiss. The alpha’s hands skirted down his body, one hand sliding over the curve of his ass and then between his thighs where Dean already was dribbling slick. His hands closed around the alpha’s hips in shock and their arousals met, dragging against each other as Dean collided with his body. He shivered as the scent of their arousal surrounded them. The feel of Cas hot against him was something Dean knew he could swiftly become addicted to. He’d never felt so close to his alpha before and he yearned for more.

Dean moaned softly when he felt fingers touched his rim. The touch was light and exploratory; the fingers already coated in slick and very much wanted. He leaned against Cas’s chest, squirming so his thighs spread a little more, willfully offering his body to the alpha for exploration. To his memory, Dean had never been this aroused before; he felt slick rolling down his thighs and when Cas’s nudged a finger more firmly against his rim, the flesh relaxed and simply let the alpha in. He wanted more powerfully than ever before. This wasn’t some fly by night stranger; this was Cas – _his_ Cas, _his mate,_  and it felt as if every cell in his body had been hand crafted for the man he held in his arms.

 “Cas…” He moaned, tilting his head down so he could claim Cas’s lips again. He swallowed the alpha’s moan as fingers began to work in and out of him; Dean had no clue how many, he simply didn’t care. Cas was going to be inside him soon… his mate was going to take him at last.

That thought, potent and wonderful, pulled Dean back. “Will you… will you claim me now?”

Their eyes met, green on blue, and for a moment time stood still as they simply stared at each other, letting the heat between their bodies breathe in the room.

Cas nodded once and cupped Dean’s cheek with his free hand. “Yes, I will… if you want me.”

Dean almost laughed. It was impossible to think of not wanting his alpha. “Yeah, Cas. I want you.” Dean nuzzled in against the alpha’s neck, letting his body go lax as Cas kept working him open, up to three fingers by now. Dean’s body shook with arousal, particularly when the alpha rubbed those digits over his prostate. When he spoke, Dean’s voice was thick with want. “I never stopped wanting you. All these years… it’s always been you.”

Cas claimed his mouth roughly, stealing what words had been on Dean’s lips and drinking them in. The room devolved into only the smack of their kisses and the wet sound of Cas’s fingers moving inside of Dean. Soon however, Dean’s legs were trembling in pleasure and he was having trouble holding himself.

As if sensing this, Cas pulled his fingers out and guided Dean back to the bed. “Lay on your back. I want to see you.”

Dean didn’t have to be told twice. He scrambled onto his back and scooted up to the headboard. His hole was still fluttering around nothing as he reached out to Cas. He was pleased when the alpha wasted no time in crawling between Dean’s thighs.

To Dean, it felt like coming home. Tears pricked at the corners of Dean’s eyes as he wrapped his arms around the alpha and brought their lips back together. As they kissed, Dean felt the blunt head of Cas’s cock press against his rim and with added pressure, breeched Dean’s body. The omega’s head fell back against the pillow, his lips parted on a low moan as he rolled his hips slowly, taking the alpha deeper. Cas hilted himself in one smooth motion, aided by the rolling of Dean beneath him. They lay together that way, forehead to forehead, gazing into each other’s eyes and breathing each other’s air while Dean adjusted to the newness of his alpha inside of him.

They didn’t need long. Dean felt as if his body was made for the alpha and soon he was impatient to move as his body cried out for friction and heat. He shifted his hips up and rocked against Cas, his heart thrilling when the alpha moaned. That was the only hint that Cas needed; he drew his hips back and thrust back in a moment later. It was slow and gentle, the friction of Cas pumping inside of him was ultimately perfect. Dean wound his legs around the alpha’s waist and rocked in time to the thrusts of his mate’s perfect cock. Dean’s eyes were riveted to Cas’s, watching the heat as it sparked and flared in beautiful blue. He noted the way his mate’s lips opened and the way he moaned his pleasure. Every nuance of the way he moved against Dean illustrated his pleasure, reaching between them to slowly stroke Dean’s cock.

For a time, it was more than enough. They moved together on the bed, passing pleasure back and forth between their bodies as they shared it between them. There was no reason to hurry. They had all night. In fact, they had the next month to get lost in each other. While Dean wanted the sex to last, wanted to believe he could linger underneath Cas forever; he also wanted his mating bite. It was that impatience that drove Dean to rocking a little more firmly against his mate, speeding the pace between their bodies little by little until soon they were gasping against each other’s mouths. Cas’s arms trembled as he held himself upright, his fingers were tight around Dean’s arousal as he pumped it faster, following the rhythm of their  hips. Dean tightened his legs and shifted his body again until Cas pounded into that perfect spot inside of him.

Stars bloomed behind Dean’s eye lids and he gripped Cas’s shoulders tightly. “Soon, Cas.”

“Soon.” Cas agreed, his hips pumping harder and faster into Dean, causing the stars to burst now as Dean’s body was driven closer to the edge. Reading the signs of Dean’s body, Cas shifted back and gave the omega’s cock a final stroke. In the moment when Dean’s body seized with orgasm, Cas surged forward and latched his teeth at the base of Dean’s neck. He ground in with his bite, the pain of it lost amidst the pleasure of coming. Dean was equal amounts aware of the blood dripping from the bite as he was of the cooling cum that pooled on his belly. Above him, Cas thrust once more into his body and then his knot was popping inside of Dean. Even as he felt his mate’s cum paint the inside of his channel, Dean took his opportunity to return the bite. He sank his teeth into Cas while the alpha’s body still quivered with pleasure.

The moment he tasted his mate’s blood, something strange and wonderful passed over his body. His awareness shifted to acknowledge a deepening bond between them; he was aware of Cas. Of the buzz of pleasure that spiked when Dean clenched around the alpha’s knot and coaxed another burst of cum from him as well as the warm floating as he settled into Dean’s arms. In bemused amazement, Dean sighed and ran his fingers through dark, messy hair. “You are perfect.”

“So are you.” Cas returned, leaning forward to kiss Dean’s eyelids.

For a long time, they just laid together in a warm silence. Dean was the one who finally broke it. “Did you ever think we’d be here?”

“Here? As in the beach?” Cas asked, his brow furrowing.

“No.” Dean snickered as he touched the man’s forehead, poking at the wrinkles forming there. “Mated. In bed together. You know, here.”

“Oh.” Cas said, nodding his understanding. “I admit, I wasn’t sure after it all happened but once we got back together, I did.”

“Did you…” Dean hesitated, glancing at his mate. “Did you ever give up on me?”

Cas smiled, his fingers tracing over Dean’s cheek. “No. I always knew you were mine though I wasn’t… I wasn’t sure if you would ever get back to me.”

Dean nodded. He’d been much the same. All of his many affairs over the years? Why bother when he’d met his mate and lost him. “I am glad we found each other again.”

“Me too.” Cas said, pulling his arms tight around Dean. “I’m never letting you go again Dean.”

In the circle of his mate’s arms, Dean had everything he’d ever dreamed of. “Good.”


End file.
